Gaming machines which provide players awards in primary or base games are well known. Gaming machines generally require the player to place or make a wager to activate the primary or base game. In many of these gaming machines, the award is based on the player obtaining a winning symbol or symbol combination and on the amount of the wager (e.g., the higher the wager, the higher the award). Symbols or symbol combinations which are less likely to occur usually provide higher awards.
In such known gaming machines, the amount of the wager made on the base game by the player may vary. For instance, the gaming machine may enable the player to wager a minimum number of credits, such as one credit (e.g., one cent, nickel, dime, quarter or dollar) up to a maximum number of credits, such as five credits. This wager may be made by the player a single time or multiple times in a single play of the primary game. For instance, a slot game may have one or more paylines and the slot game may enable the player to make a wager on each payline in a single play of the primary game. Thus, it is known that a gaming machine, such as a slot game, may enable players to make wagers of substantially different amounts on each play of the primary or base game ranging, for example, from one credit up to 125 credits (e.g., five credits on each of 25 separate paylines). This is also true for other wagering games, such as video draw poker, where players can wager one or more credits on each hand and where multiple hands can be played simultaneously. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that different players play at substantially different wagering amounts or levels and at substantially different rates of play.
Another known gaming machine includes game elements that are assigned to a single matrix of game element locations. In this gaming machine, play is initiated by evaluating the game elements for predetermined transformative conditions, such as a match of game elements. If a transformative condition is found, the game element(s) are transformed with at least one being removed from the single matrix. The remaining game elements are moved, if permitted, according to a movement methodology. The steps of evaluating, transforming, removing, and moving the remaining game elements are repeated so long as a transformation is subsequently available for continued gameplay. Such games have been relatively popular, though they are hampered by their inherently limited volatility due in part to the limited number of paylines. There is a continuing need to provide new and different gaming machines with such features that increase volatility and therefore increase player excitement.